But, since we can’t get to the beach yet, sunshine’s got me thinking about bright bursts of citrusy flavor.

In the form of a lemon chess pie.

Chess pies are super Southern and consist of eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla. It’s a great recipe to know because you usually have the ingredients on hand and can whip this up if guests unexpectedly will be arriving soon.

This recipe comes from Southern Living. Instead of using vanilla, I used some lemon juice to give the pie a more summery twist.

Start with a pie crust. You can use store bought or homemade.

This little beauty was made by my husband. Following my grandmother’s recipe.

I love that. Him reading the recipe written in her handwriting.

So, once you have your pie crust baked and cooled, it’s time for the filling.

You will need:

4 eggs, separated

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350.

Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a big bowl

And the whites in a not as big bowl

Using an electric hand mixer, beat the whites into stiff peaks. See how there’s a little point of egg white standing up on the mixer? That’s a stiff peak.

Leave those whites for a minute and turn to the yolks. Add the melted butter, sugar and lemon juice and stir.

Now, gently tip the whites into the yolk mixture and fold them in.

You’ll get this beautiful, pale, buttery yellow.

When fully combined, pour the mix into the crust.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until set.

Let cool in the fridge, and then pile high with whipped cream.

When you slice it, I love the contrast of the lemony yellow against the glistening white whipped cream.

Served icy cold, this pie is like a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day: refreshing, tart and sweet and so satisfying.

Last night we were both supposed to not be home. But we both ended up at home. For dinner.

And I really had no plan for feeding both of us.

So I opened a cabinet.

And then another cabinet.

And then I rummaged around the fridge.

And I came up with angel hair pasta, olive oil, garlic, a lemon and some basil leaves.

If you have pasta and some olive oil, you can always make a meal.

So here we go, pasta sauce on the fly.

Pour some olive oil into a pan and add two cloves of garlic chopped. Remember, the oil is going to be the sauce, so don’t skimp out here.

When the garlic starts to brown a bit, add in the juice of one lemon and tear a few basil leaves into the sauce. Give a few grinds to the pepper mill. If you want to add a touch of richness, add in a tablespoon of butter.

Toss some angel hair pasta in the sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

A few key ingredients and you won’t panic when you need to whip up a last minute dish.